The Washington Commanders suffered a 31-0 loss to the Minnesota Vikings on the road, dropping them to 3-10 this season. Here are five takeaways from the weekend.
1. The latest on Jayden Daniels.
It has been a frustrating season for Daniels, who caught the league's attention last year with one of the best rookie campaigns in NFL history. Things got worse Sunday afternoon when he fell on his elbow after taking a hit in the third quarter. The play, which resulted in a fourth-down interception, was his last of the day, as head coach Dan Quinn decided to sit him as a precautionary measure.
After the game, Quinn said Daniels could have returned, but he made the decision because "as a team, at this point, we were off."
"I felt like that was the right call for us," Quinn said.
Daniels' day ended with him completing nine of his 20 pass attempts for 78 yards with an interception. It was the third time this season that Daniels had to leave a game early because of an injury, the first two being games against the Dallas Cowboys and Seattle Seahawks.
Although the Commanders' season had been upended in the four games that Daniels missed with his dislocated elbow, the team and Daniels himself viewed it as important for him to get game reps and continue his development. The team still has that opinion, and Quinn hinted that Daniels will play in the final four games if he is healthy.
"It's an important development time for him," Quinn said. "There's no 'zero-risk' game. We try to manage that, but for the development part of it, it's important."
2. Struggles to get stops.
The Commanders' defense ran into several problems against the Vikings, from allowing J.J. McCarthy to throw three touchdowns to giving up 162 yards on the ground to the 25th rushing offense. But perhaps one of the biggest issues was that Washington kept allowing the Vikings to stay on the field.
Prior to Sunday's game, the Vikings were among the worst in the league at converting third downs at just 30% all year. In their last two games, they were held to just 11 and 10 first downs and outscored 49-6. They faced no such obstacle against the Commanders, who allowed them to convert six of their 11 third-down attempts and put up 315 yards -- their best performance since Week 10.
The most damning indictment came on the Vikings' second drive of the game, when they had their longest drive of at least the last 25 years with a 19-play, 12-minute drive that bled almost two-thirds of the second quarter. The Commanders had five opportunities to get them off the field, with the Vikings needing to convert third downs of six, nine, eight, 12 and one yard. The Vikings converted them all and went up by two scores.
3. The offense couldn't get going.
The score speaks for itself when it comes to Washington's offense, but it didn't start that way. The Commanders put together a 15-play drive starting at their own 15-yard line that got them all the way to theVikings' 2-yard line. It didn't end in points, but there were some positives with the connection between Daniels and Terry McLaurin as well as Chris Rodriguez leading the run game.
However, things turned for the Commanders after that possession. They gained just 21 yards for the rest of the first half, and their first two possessions of the second ended with interceptions. They only touched the ball four times in the entire second half with three of those possessions ending in turnovers.
The Commanders were limited to 206 total yards -- the worst performance from the offense since the 2023 season. What's most disappointing is that the Commanders were the healthiest they had been all season with the returns of Daniels and wide receiver Noah Brown. While it's a positive that the offense is as close to full strength as it can be for the final four games, it's clear the unit still has plenty of work to do.
4. Bad news on Zach Ertz.
It sounds like the Commanders will have to search for other options to close out the season.
While the Commanders are still waiting for an official word on the extent of Ertz's injury, Quinn said after the game that the initial test points toward it being significant. Ertz was emotional as he was carted off the field with a brace on his knee in the fourth quarter. Marcus Mariota gave him some encouraging words before he left, and Daniels slammed his helmet to the ground.
"That's hard, man," Quinn said. "This guy is one hell of a competitor in every way, and to see the frustration and emotion with that, all of us are feeling that."
Ertz has been a security blanket for the Commanders' offense since he joined the team during the 2024 offseason. He's been nearly as productive this season as he was in last season, averaging 9.9 yards per catch with four touchdowns. Ertz has also been an emotional leader for the roster and provided guidance for Daniels as well as several other young players.
Ertz's absence means the Commanders need to rely on the other three tight ends on the roster. The list includes John Bates, who signed a new contract with Washington this past offseason, second-year pro Ben Sinnott and former undrafted rookie Colson Yankoff.
5. Recapture the progress.
Quinn said the Commanders took three steps back from the progress they made in an overtime loss to the Denver Broncos. Though it wasn't a victory, the team was more competitive and looked closer to the 2024 iteration of the roster than it had in months. It was believed that the performance would be a foundation for a strong finish to the end of a disappointing season.
There is still time for the Commanders to achieve that, but that was not the case against the Vikings, who had just one more win than the Commanders heading into the weekend.
"None of it was acceptable," Quinn said. "There's four division games [left] in our season. And it is an absolute must that we recapture that forward progress."
The Commanders' next matchup will be against the New York Giants, who are also eliminated from playoff contention and currently in possession of the No. 1 overall pick. Things get more difficult after that, as they will play the Philadelphia Eagles twice and the Cowboys on Christmas Day. Both teams will be vying for a shot at the division title.
It might be a challenge to go 4-0 in the final quarter of the season, but if the Commanders can at least be competitive, it would go a long way towards showing something to build on in 2026.
